Morpeth Amateur Swimming Club

It is our club fun night on Friday 21st December at the pool and will replace normal trainingThe plan is as follows:

6.30pm - 7.45pm all swimmers 12 years and under will take part in a relay fun night organised by our club captains Ethan Howe and Jess Watson. You will all need to turn up in pyjamas however don’t wear onesies or heavy pjs - you will spend the night on bottom of pool !!! You will be split into teams led by our aquatic helpers and the winners will get the prize (prize for everyone that takes part )

7.45pm - 9pm all swimmers 13 years and over will compete in a water polo tournament. To make it a little more difficult to move around the water you too will come dressed in pyjamas the teams will be led by Jess and Ethan with help from another two of our senior swimmers (yet to be confirmed)

There will be a prize for the winning team!

The coaching team and Club captains are all looking forward to seeing you all on Friday for the end of Year finale.

Also swimmers in SD1/2, C1, JP, C2 & P should all be brining in a 'Secret Santa' present on Friday or before if you will not be attending (please put it in the cupboard). Any questions about this please see a member of the coaching team poolside.Morpeth ASC – Christmas

In previous seasons Morpeth ASC has not been able to offer training over the Christmas period. This is ok foryounger swimmers in non-competitive squads who will benefit from the rest and follow a shorter scheme of work.

However, for swimmers in competitive squads training should continue. This is particularly important for those aiming for County, Regional and National success later in the season. Almost all successful clubs train over the Christmas period, Morpeth ASC can now offer the same opportunity to our swimmers.

Swimmers in Performance, Junior Performance, Competitive 2 and Competitive 1 should continue to train over the Christmas period for important upcoming competitions, some in very early 2019. Please attend as many sessions as you can.

If any swimmer in Seniors would like to train over Christmas, they should speak to Becki to arrange this.

Swimmers in Minnows and SD1 & SD2 will have their final session on 21/12/2018 and return to normal on 4/1/2019 (SD1/2) & 6/1/2019 (Minnows).

Christmas Training Timetable

Sessions run as normal up to Friday 21st December. Friday 21st December PM will be Xmas fun session for the whole club – more information to follow

Saturday 22nd December,

7:00 – 8:45am – P, JP, C1

Sunday 23rd December

4:00 – 6:00pm – P

4:00 – 5:00pm – C2

5:00 – 6:00pm – JP + C1

24th, 25th, 26th & 27th December – No sessions

Friday 28th December

7:00 – 9:00am – P, C2

Saturday 29th December

7:30 – 9:30am – P, JP, C1

Sunday 30th December

7:30 – 9:30am – P, C2

Monday 31st December

7:00 – 9:00am – P, JP, C1

1st & 2nd January - No Sessions

Thursday 3rd January

6:00am – 7:30am – P, JP, C2

Friday 4th January – all sessions return to normal

2018 Club Championship Results and New Club Records

Please find Below the results of this year’s Club Championships and updated Club Records.

Results and New Records

Head Coach Report - October 2018

Please find Below a report I hope to send out each month highlighting some of the key achievements of our swimmers and any important changes within the club. A copy can also be found on the club notice board.

Due to Sunderland pool remaining open the Northumberland and Durham Championships 2019 - Age Groups will be held at Sunderland now and will be a Long Course Meet. There is also a change to the date of the 800/1500 Freestyle events for Age and Youth (14+) swimmers.

Please find below updated meet information and qualifying times. These times are now Long Course but conversions from short course are allowed. Use this conversion tool http://www.pullbuoy.co.uk/times 'ASA Tables' to convert times.

Information and Qualifying Times

Swimmers can achieve qualifying times at the following meets:

Alnwick, Blyth, Newcastle Shrimp, Derwentside/Peterlee New Year.

Reminder the N&D Teams day is 9th March 2019 - PLEASE KEEP THIS FREE

Many Thanks,Becki Head Coach

Northumberland Hub

The next 3 dates for the Northumberland Hub are:

Saturday 17th November (you should attend before Club Championships. Club Championships is a fun, internal, club event, training is still a priority for our swimmers at County (N&D) level and above).

Saturday 22nd December

Saturday 29th December

All at Sunderland 10am -12 noon

Further dates will be sent out once available.

Many Thanks,Becki Head Coach

Eating Well at Competitions

As parents you don't need to analyse your child's swimming, that is the job of the coaching team! One way you can really help and support them to perform well though is encouraging good eating and drinking habits at competitions.

Swimming competitions are long days and a lot of young swimmers tend to overeat early on and then not eat or drink anywhere near enough towards the end of the day.

Below are a few documents with snack ideas and information on when to eat at competitions (for example swimmers should be snacking and drinking straight after each race on their way to swim down).

Our young swimmers don't need to be following any fancy nutrition plan just yet! Equally they don't need to be finishing off a family sized bag of chocolate buttons or Haribos before 9:15am or eating a large Pasta bowl 7 minutes before their 400 Free heat gets on the blocks.

Please provide swimmers with all their snacks and drinks for each session at competitions.

How much should an athlete drink?

Cereal Bars

Eating at Competitions

Travel Snack Ideas - Protein

Travel Snack Ideas - Carbohydrates

Many Thanks,Becki Head Coach

Early Morning Training

New sessions: Just a reminder we start our new training times and squads from next (Monday 1st October). The new programme puts the club and our swimmers in a strong position to begin fulfilling their true potential.

Morning sessions: I have had confirmation from the pool that we will be able to get in the building no later than 5:50am so hopefully no standing in the cold over winter!

Below is an article about how best to support your child with early morning training. While slightly earlier mornings is a change for Morpeth ASC it is the norm in all successful swimming clubs, it is part of any successful swimmers (and their parents) routine. Most clubs would love 6am starts!

Breakfast: Also attached are some ideas for Breakfast to help set swimmers up for a good training session and day at school.

Morning Training Tips

New Breakfast Ideas

FAO Nothumberland Hub 2018/2019

Morpeth ASC belongs to something called the Northumberland Hub as part of the regional swimming set up and Northumberland and Durham Performance programme. Within this Hub are Alnwick, Ashington, Blyth, Morpeth and Tynedale. Entry to the Hub is based upon a selection criteria decided by the Hub itself and once a swimmer reaches this criterion they are invited to attend.

We are fortunate in our Hub of having smaller clubs and therefore our entry criteria is attainment of an “Northumberland & Durham (N &D) ” time in that year. For some Hubs it is reaching the finals of the North East Regional Event!

Morpeth ASC have more swimmers on the Northumberland Hub than any other Northumberland club, with over 20 swimmers already selected for the programme

The benefits of the Hub include access to the only 50m pool in our area, Sunderland. The chance to train with other swimmers at a similar level, experience different coaching styles, use the most up to date training equipment. This season we will hopefully get use of the underwater video system at Sunderland pool.

The swimmers individually pay a small fee for the Hub session but the rest of the pool hire cost comes from Swim England so crucially none of the cost is met by Morpeth ASC fees.

Poolside you will see swimmers wearing Hub swim hats mainly in the Performance squad, the purpose of this note is just to explain what this is and that it is something that ALL our swimmers can aspire to and attend (subject to them reaching the selection criteria).

Swimmers from the Hub can progress through the Swim England system to a more select 'talent' camps where we were lucky enough to have three of our swimmers attend swim camps this year. The hub is also directly linked to the Northumberland and Durham Performance Programme for the county's top swimmers. Only 2 swimmers from Northumberland have been selected for this programme this season, 1 of these swimmers is in Morpeth ASC Performance squad.

Our Morpeth ASC representatives on the Hub are David Tate and Terry Hewitt so if you have any questions please ask them. Becki will be taking the lead coach roles at these sessions this season as well.

So if your child is new to the club and has an N&D for this year let us know or if your child achieves an N&D time through the year they gain automatic entry to Hub (subject to there being space) so please flag this up to us.”

We picked up three trophies: Runners Up, Top 11 years olds and Winners of the Cannon

Well done to everyone who took part in this years Junior League, heats and final. Looking forward to seeing what next years team can do.Morpeth ASC Competitions 2018/2019 Season

The most up to date competition calendar for the 2018/2019 season is now available on our Galas page.

Please take the time to read and note competition dates for your child's squad.

The Competition Calendar is designed to meet the needs of all swimmers and provide competitive opportunities at every level. See 'Squad/Swimmers' column. Swimmers should follow and enter events as directed by the Head Coach as closely as possible. This is part of the training programme at Morpeth ASC and the individual needs of each swimmer are considered.

Team Events - Please take note of these dates. We need as many of our swimmers to be available for team events as possible. As a smaller club to continue being successful, we need excellent commitment from all our swimmers and parents so strong teams can be put together.

Many Thanks,Becki Head Coach

IMPORTANT - SAFETY during sessions

Just a quick note to advise ALL swimmers should not be wearing jewellery during sessions. Swimmers should also remove watches and Fitbit type products.

The lanes are narrow and with sometimes 8-10 swimmers per lane during club sessions an accident could easily happen.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Becki Head Coach

Kit Bags at the Pool

Please see below message from Kay who has with others worked hard to tidy up the Kit bag area over half term.

"I have marked up the kit bag pegs into squads please use the correct peg when returning your kit. Please do not return your kit if it is not marked up with your name in all equipment

I will be carrying out periodic checks on the kit and any on the wrong pegs or not named will be returned to cupboard and you will not be allowed to use the facility and will need to take your kit bag home after each session

Please do not hesitate to contact me if there are any questions"

Thanks Kay HoweImportant Information - Drinks at Training

A quick reminder that all swimmers should be bringing a Water Bottle to ALL training sessions. Concern has been raised about the number of children turning up to training working hard sometimes for over a hour without a drink! Swimmers should attend with at least 750ml to 1L of fluid (water or dilute juice) for each hour of training. Swimmers in Performance and Junior Performance may need two bottles on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings.

Swimmers who attend training without a sufficient amount to drink will not be allowed to swim.British Swimming Competition Pathway Handbook

It is an exciting time for swimming in Britain. The Domestic Competition Structure is changing. This brochure will outline the changes, and explain how these aim to contribute to the development of swimmers in the sport going forward.

Read the Handbook

News Summary

MASC Privacy Notice

The policy now exists for the Club, there is nothing further you need to do. The full policy can be found here

The Morpeth ASC committee has decided to change the way parents are asked to pay for their swimmer’s Gala entry and to use a system of payment at the time of entry, which is common for most clubs. Read more

NESS Swimwear have given club members the opportunity to receive a 5% discount when ordering, use the discount count morpasc20 in the shopping basket. At the same time the club will also receive funds from NESS.